christmas is finally over

Hello all! Real law school must have started again, because Chad spends hours studying, and I do my best to pester him. My time in the US has flown by as it usually does, and I leave for Frankfurt tomorrow already. We managed to fit a lot in, including getting flu shots, which will hopefully come in handy, since Chad is constantly around germ infested students, and I'll be doing a lot of plane and train traveling this next month and a half. Even more fun than the flu shots however, was going to Chad's parents' house for the weekend for a belated Christmas celebration. Brad and Tracy's kids did an encore performance of their Christmas program which consisted of singing, and even piano playing! Makes this opera singing aunt's heart swell with pride to hear those beautiful little voices! Brad and Tracy and their two oldest boys will all be coming to New York City in February when I sing at Carnegie Hall, and I couldn't be more excited to have them in the audience.

My twin Drew also joined in the festivities over the weekend, which included going to see the Metropolitan Opera's broadcast of "Maria Stuarda". You may remember that I sang in that same opera at Frankfurt this past November. My friend Elza sang the role of Queen Elizabeth there, and she also sang the same role in the broadcast. She absolutely blew me away and I can't express how proud I am of her! Here's a link to the Met's website if you want to read more about it! Drew and I hadn't been to the opera together since we saw Chad perform in Frankfurt in 2010, and we certainly didn't eat popcorn during that opera! We may have drank some beer backstage during the intermission though...

We had a beautiful snowfall in Iowa on Sunday, but it didn't interrupt our departure time that evening. We got back to a much colder Iowa City, and the temps seem to keep dropping! I guess I did say I wanted a real winter... While avoiding the freezing weather, I managed to get an actual US cell phone contract yesterday, which makes me feel one step closer to spending more time in America. My Apple product ownership is nearing ridiculous levels, as I now own two iPhones. Thankfully one is unlocked, so I'll be able to take it with me to different countries and just pop in a new SIM card for each country. I'm learning to streamline my traveling needs! Well, "needs" might be a strong word. "Attracted to shiny tech gadgets" might be a better way to describe it.

Well, I'm sorry to say we haven't taken pictures of the new apartment yet, but it is certainly looking more homey! We still have to hang up some pictures, get rid of some boxes, but that'll happen soon, and I'm sure Chad will be willing to post some pictures of our new digs. Until then, stay warm!